MIT Hacking Medicine Robotics - first hackathon in Asia focused on social use of robotics for eldercare

10 February 2017

MIT Hacking Medicine Robotics Singapore 2017 - the first hackathon in Asia focused on social use of robotics for eldercare - saw 83 participants in 12 teams working to address a range of eldercare challenges from fall prevention to detecting dementia and monitoring cardiac health. It called upon developers, clinicians, engineers, designers, researchers and business managers to build software and hardware applications on the Segway Robot platform. The Segway Robot is an open platform project.

Team Botler won the top prize with their work on autonomous mobility for healthcare. The team developed an autonomous system for transporting elderly patients and residents at nursing homes and extended-care facilities to where they need to go. Winners of the hackathon also had the opportunity to sit on a panel, moderated by Howard Califano, Director of SMART Innovation Centre, at EmTech Asia where the robot, Loomo, made a guest appearance.

Gracing the event was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-In-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. The event was organised by SMART Innovation Centre and SGInnovate from February 10 - 12, 2017, at SGInnovate at 32 Carpenter Street.